Tree Farmer - July/August 2011 - (Page 22)

Family Culture Clint I sometimes wonder if we have lost something basic about what it means to be human as we threw out our old way of living and relating with each other. Why do I bring this up? Caring for the land, especially forestland, is an intergenerational project. It provides families an opportunity to recapture these lost family dynamics if we are interested in working at it. As I study families, I see three basic approaches to family life. The first and most common is a go-with-theflow approach where everyone’s expectation is that at age 18 kids will leave home and begin their own lives and mom and dad can get back to their lives. I know some parents who have moved and purchased a smaller home or a motor home as soon as the last child left home to encourage this behavior! Family members may be very supportive and close to each other, but it happens more by accident than by plan. There is no sense of family identity outside of these personal relationships. The second type has a very strong personality at the center of the family. This person creates a “command performance” atmosphere where family members are required to participate in family functions. My grandfather was this type of person. Our extended family was very close until my grandfather’s death. Because our sense of family identity revolved around him, at his death the family scattered and that sense of connection and kinship reduced dramatically. This is akin to a sole proprietor type of business where the business owner is the business, and when he or she is gone the business folds. The third type is a shared identity family. Think of the Kennedy family or the Hilton or Ford families. We know of these families because of the wealth and businesses these families created and sustained over multiple generations. The members of these families are proud to share a last name based on the accomplishments and traditions of their family, and succeeding generations work to live up to and add to the luster of their last name. There are tens The 2002 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year and member of AFF’s board of trustees, Clint Bentz, of Scio, Oregon, is a CPA; reach him at or (503) 769-2186. Intergenerational Building an ties to the land By Bentz We live in a nuclear family culture. this culture is relatively new one (we have only about three generations of experience with it), so the jury is still out on whether it is an improvement from what went before. With the new wealth and freedoms generated by the Industrial Revolution, family members no longer had to rely on each other for basic financial support and stability. As we moved off the land and into town, the historic connections people and families had with the land and each other was also lost. Some people say good riddance, but 22 International Year of Forests, 2011 Tree Farmer JULY/AUGUST 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - July/August 2011

Tree Farmer - July/august 2011
Contents
Cover Story
2011 Western Regional Tree Farmers of the Year
Forestry 101: Planting Small Bare Root Seedlings
Conservations Programs
Ties to the Land
Taxing Issues
Gadgets & Gear
Woodland Security
Wildlife Matters

Tree Farmer - July/August 2011